Foreign Debt Policies in South America, 1929-1945

ABSTRACT This paper examines the similarities and contrasts of strategies adopted by the larger South American economies - Argentina, Brazil and Chile - in dealing with the problems raised by the fall of their export revenues coupled with the almost complete interruption of the inflow of foreign capital in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The characteristics of foreign indebtedness of these countries in the late 1920s and the ways the external shock affected their balance of payments from 1928-29 to 1933-34 are also considered. Their differentiated adjustment processes including debt adjustment schemes adopted during the 1930s and early 1940s are compared. Permanent debt settlements are described and discussed. Finally, it considers the links between growth performance of these countries and differentiated foreign debt policies.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: ABREU,MARCELO DE PAIVA
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Centro de Economia Política 2000
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-31572000000300253
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Summary:ABSTRACT This paper examines the similarities and contrasts of strategies adopted by the larger South American economies - Argentina, Brazil and Chile - in dealing with the problems raised by the fall of their export revenues coupled with the almost complete interruption of the inflow of foreign capital in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The characteristics of foreign indebtedness of these countries in the late 1920s and the ways the external shock affected their balance of payments from 1928-29 to 1933-34 are also considered. Their differentiated adjustment processes including debt adjustment schemes adopted during the 1930s and early 1940s are compared. Permanent debt settlements are described and discussed. Finally, it considers the links between growth performance of these countries and differentiated foreign debt policies.